Monday, December 31, 2018

Another year draws to a close, and like every year in Alaska, there have been hundreds of fantastic photos along the way - here are my favorites.

Happy New Year all!

January - Glen Alps on my 9:ZERO:7 Tundra.

February - Knik glacier with the Tundra again ;)

March - Wolverine Peak with Travis

March # 2 - Jamey, my boss and owner of Chain Reaction Cycles Alaska, sitting proud in his new store!

March #3 - Ptarmigan peak north face. The tracks on the right are mine, returning from a rather harrowing climb up the north ridge (left).

March #4 - O'Malley ridgeline on an extremely windy day. Walking on the ridge was like being sandblasted!

April - Experimenting with pano selfies on another windy day. Homicide and North suicide peaks in the background.

April #2 - Windblown snow on the powerline trail.

April #3 - Wedge ridge and Ptarmigan peak. The wedge ridge is super fun with snow on it!

May - View of Pioneer, West Twin, Goat Rock and Eklutna from POW/MIA. I had just finished climbing Goat Rock west ridge, and decided that I might as well climb POW as well!

May #2 - Riding my approach bike back around Eklutna from East Fork trail. Just finished climbing Baneful peak.

May #3 - Summit of Fall's peak. Indianhouse on the left.

June - Johnson Pass on the 9:ZERO:7 Saber. Such an amazing day!

June #2 - More Johnson Pass. Me sticking my tongue out.

June #3 - Even more Johnson Pass!

June #4 - Benign Peak summit

June #5 - Benign Peak summit

July - Lost Lake trail.

July #2 - Brent Lowen, very focused at a Arctic MTB race at Hillside. His chain looks a bit... odd!

July #3 - Will Ross, friend and co-worker on his way to winning the Alaskaman Triathlon.

July #4 - The incredibly stoic Adrian Barniak at the start of the Fireweed 400. I was part of a three person crew who supported him the entire distance... What happens in the support car, stays in the support car!

July #5 - Adrian on the return from Valdez. I swear he was probably grinning ear to ear 80% of the time!

July #6 - Double rainbow on Indianhouse mountain! I'd also like to say that Adrian was on this hike, the day after finishing the Fireweed 400!

July #7 - Looking west from the south ridge of south Baleful peak. Red spot glacier below. Things went awry so I turned back!

August - A big day of front range ridges! Things started out wet and foggy, but then it burned away to a glorious partly cloudy day. Homicide, North Suicide, and powerline peaks.

August #2 - Why aren't there more August photos? This is why. August means saturating RAIN in southcentral AK. Returning from a Pleasant, Peeking, and Raina triple - saturation level was at drowned rat!

September - Labor day adventure with a huuuge crew of friends. We did the classic Mt. Williwaw/Ramp loop under impeccable conditions. Unforgettable day!

September #2 - The Labor day adventure group at the summit of the Ramp. We had just finished traversing the ridgeline from Williwaw (left) and now had a nice stroll back to Glen Alps. Good times.

September #3 - Ram Valley in fall colors with the Dragontail ridgeline in the background.

September #4 - More Ram Valley goodness. A worthy destination even without a peak in mind, especially on a nice fall day!

September #5 - Mt. Rumble. Oh boooy was this a nice stretch of weather, and oh boooy was it a long journey to climb Rumble in a day!

September #6 - Goat Rock east ridge. Very nearly didn't climb this upon seeing it, but then I tried it! The question I kept asking was "Is this OK?" and it was, so I kept going. Eventually I made it to the top!

September #7 - Beautiful tundra colors on the return hike from Goat Rock.

October (OK, last day of Sept!) - Morning at Eklutna, with beautiful fall colors. It was crazy warm that day.

October - Running down Wolverine peak. We happened to run into my uncle Jeff and he snapped a few good candid shots ;)

October #2 - another good Wolverine shot by my uncle. Posing near the summit with his pupper... If I look worked, it's 'cause of Strava related reasons!

November - Thanksgiving Day climb up the S couloir on Ptarmigan peak. I unexpectedly ran into Van Ruamy (below right) on the approach, so we decided to summit together. Awesome way to spend Thanksgiving.

November #2 - Near the summit of Peak 3960, looking toward Indianhouse (center). I intended to climb it via the north ridge, but thought the better of it while on the first gendarme. Not that day!

Looking through these photos brought back some incredible memories from the past year. It's amazing how much has happened in only a year's time, and how much promise 2019 holds. I can't wait! See you all out there!